All aboard! Thomas & Friends return to Illinois Railway Museum for 25th year

Chicago Tribune

01-07-2025

On a July morning in Union, Illinois, a familiar whistle drifts across the prairie. Steel wheels clack against century-old rails, and a crowd of excited children — many perched on a parent's shoulders — leans forward as a bright-blue locomotive rounds the bend. Thomas the Tank Engine has returned to the Illinois Railway Museum, just as he has since 2000, and with him comes a flood of memories for the families who have grown up alongside Day Out With Thomas events.
When Illinois Railway Museum welcomed its first Day Out With Thomas weekend a quarter-century ago, the idea was powerful: pair a living piece of railway history with the most beloved storybook engine on earth and let children experience both at full scale.
Parents who once arrived being pushed in strollers now return hand in hand with their own children, embarking on their own first Thomas train ride. In many households, the faded paper ticket from that inaugural visit still lives in a shoebox beside pressed concert stubs and Little League ribbons — a reminder that stories worth telling often involve passing down shared experiences and reliving cherished memories.
The Illinois Railway Museum owes its existence to 10 rail enthusiasts who in 1953 pooled $100 apiece to rescue a single interurban car from the scrapyard. Over the decades, those 10 became thousands of volunteers and donors; the lone streetcar grew into the nation's largest collection of historic railway equipment. Today, 20 structures now stretch across 100 acres, sheltering everything from a 19th-century depot to sleek diesel streamliners.
However, preserving the past was never the sole goal. The founders believed railroading should be felt, heard and — most of all — ridden. Day Out With Thomas perfectly fits that mission, turning preservation into participation for guests who may be stepping aboard a train for the very first time.
For four days (July 12, 13, 19 and 20), the museum grounds transform into a traveling festival of rail-themed play. A 20-minute ride behind Thomas is the headline attraction, joined this year by Percy's emerald-green coaches for guests who want a second spin.
Between departures, families wander Celebration Station, where hopscotch squares share turf with larger-than-life bubbles, and toddlers experiment with Mega Bloks on shaded picnic tables. Sir Topham Hatt poses for photos and high-fives, streetcars rattle past garden-railway dioramas and live musicians invite kids into impromptu conga lines.
It is equal parts family festival and living history lesson — except the star wears a smiling smokebox and a sprinkling of confetti to honor Thomas & Friends' milestone 80th anniversary.
Ask a museum docent why they still volunteer after 25 years, and the answer often drifts back to Day Out With Thomas. They have watched shy preschoolers gain the confidence to shout 'Hey, Thomas!' as their larger-than-life friend approaches the platform. They have seen grandparents, once locomotive firemen themselves, explain how a steam injector works while a 5-year-old listens wide-eyed. Year after year, the event knits generations together with a simple promise: climb aboard and create adventures together.
As the afternoon shadows lengthen on July 20, Thomas will pull into the station for the final time this season in Union. But the tracks at Illinois Railway Museum never truly fall silent, and neither does the friendship at the heart of Thomas & Friends.
Next summer the whistle will sound again, echoing across the soybean fields, calling new engineers — and plenty of returning ones — back to a place where history, imagination and a little blue engine meet. Until then, mementos will wait in scrapbooks and nightstands, keeping the story warm for its next telling.
For parents who once eagerly awaited to board their first train ride with Thomas themselves, watching their own children look out the carriage window can feel like time folding in on itself. And for those parents who just discovered this gem of an event, they're carving new family memories. The peep of the whistle, the puff of steam, the waves to smiling conductors — all become heirlooms of the heart, stitched into family tradition for decades more.
To purchase tickets for the 25th anniversary of Day Out With Thomas, visit this link. Illinois Railway Museum is located at 7000 Olson Road, Union, IL, 60180. Advance purchase online is recommended as train times sell out due to demand.